Evaristo Pérez de Castro

The identity of the man depicted in this portrait is uncertain, although it has been supposed that it is of Evaristo Pérez de Castro y Colomera (Valladolid, 1769-1848), an attaché in the embassies of Berlin, Lisbon and Vienna. He was elected representative for Valladolid and was the first secretary of the courts.

He seems to have been a keen draughtsman, as this slightly more than half-length portrait shows him leaning on a table covered with drawings that he appears to have just finished, looking serenely out at the viewer. In his right hand he has an artist's charcoal holder. He is wearing an elegant grey tailcoat with a wide lapel, underneath which we can see the white shirt that goes up to his chin and which provides a cheerful brightness to the composition. The light is entering from the top-left corner of the painting, lighting up the sitter's face and half of his body.